The dog was found clinging to life this week by a sheriff’s deputy in Jefferson County. The deputy made the heartbreaking discovery while on patrol along a quit country road where the dog had been dumped in a ditch approximately 12 hours earlier.

The pup was shivering and hungry, and his paws and muzzle had been bound with tape — ensuring he had no way of escaping that grim fate on his own.

From there, the dog — who has since been named Jimmy — was rushed to the Ivan Animal Hospital for treatment.

Despite his ordeal, Jimmy hadn't lost the will to live.

Video released by the sheriff's office shows him in a much better state just a short while after being rescued:

Though chances of finding the person responsible may have seemed slim at first, there soon came a break in the case.

"The deputy having that forethought to save that duct tape and took it back to the evidence lab and the techs worked on it for hours and they were able to slowly peel that duct tape apart and they found a fingerprint on the sticky side of it," Grant Bissell, spokesman for the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office, told FOX 2 News.

Garcia is currently in custody as authorities continued to piece together a motive, and how the suspect came to be possession of Jimmy; the dog's owners have reportedly yet to be identified.

Fortunately, Jimmy seems determined to persevere.

"His prognosis looks very good," Laura Ivan, the vet aiding in Jimmy's recovery, told the news outlet. "He has a little bit of a residual head tilt which basically implies that he is off-balance a little bit, which when they tilt their head they're actually seeing straight ahead of us. But he's been happy, he wags his tail a lot, he's active, he's eating."

Sadly, incidents of animal abuse are all too common — but as Jimmy's case shows, vigilance on the part of concerned rescuers can make all the difference, both in saving lives, and bringing those responsible to justice.

Folks with knowledge about this case, or the whereabouts of Jimmy's owners, are encouraged to call Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office Detective Bureau at 636-797-5515.